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GAS MOTOR ENGINE No. 278,198. Patented May 22,1883.

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GAS MOTOR ENGINE.

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GAS MOTOR ENGINE.

Patented May 22,1883.

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UNTTEDA STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

HERRERT SUMNER, OF MANCHESTER, COUNTY OF LANCASTER, ENGLAND, .ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TO THOMAS ASHBURY, WILLIAM LEES, AND RICHARD VITHINGTON BROMLEY SANDERSON'.

GAS-MOTOR ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,198, dated May 22, 1883.-

Application filed October 31, 1882. (No model.) Patented in Great Britain March E11, 1882, No. 1,360.

To all 'whom it may concern: t

Be it known that l, HERBERT SUMNER, of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, En gland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Gas-Motor Engines; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description, and which 1o said drawings constitute part of this specification.

In a gasmotor engine according to my invention, combustible gas or vapor and air are drawn together into a suitableuchamber by an outstroke of the engine, and are there intimately mingled. They pass to the cylinder through or by a valve operated by a suitable cam-motion, and are there compressed in the usual manner. After they have been ignited 2o and performed their office in propelling the piston, the products resulting from or remaining after their combustion, or part of them,are emitted byan exhaust oreduction valveplaced beside the inlet-valve on the back cylinder- 2 5 cover, and also worked by a cani-motion. The two cam-motions are placed side by side on one revolving piece or boss carried by a revolving shaft and so connected to it as to be easily adjustable in the direction of its rotation. By moving this piece and the cams either backward or forward the times or periods of action of the inlet and outlet valves can be simultaneously set to correspond to the motions of the pistonfwhether the engine be running in one direction or the other. l `The revolving shaft above mentioned is arranged longitudinally ot' the engine and below the level of the crank-shaft. Motion is conveyed.

to it by the crank-shaft by' means ot' screw- 4o gear or helicoidal wheels, wherebynoise is avoided. To effect ignition of the charge I provide an igniting-slide, which is operated from the motion of the above-mentioned shaft, and in such a manner that it can be readily set for the motion of the engine in either direction. Upon the shaft is keyed a drivingplate, and' beside it there is placed an eccentric connected to the said plate by a bolt or is a plan of the same.

pin. There is one bolthole in the eccentric and there are two in the plate. When the holt lpasses through one hole in the plate the eccentric is set for the forward motion, and when the bolt is transferred to the second hole the eccentric, having been suitably rotated to permit of `the change, is set for the backward motion. The igniting-slide contains an igniting-cell, and has a vertical reciprocating motion against a face formed in the cylinder. In this face there is a port communicating with the interior ot' `the cylinder. Just before the mouth of the igniting-cell opens to the mouth of the cylinder-port to ignite the charge in the cylinder, there is a communication made from the cylinder b v aV small passage, not, as in -engines heretofore constructed, to the passage which feeds the igniting-tlame with gas, but to the cellier ot' the igniting-cell itself, behind the ignitng-fiame, and directly opposite the mouth ot' the cell and the cylinder-port, so that a small portion of the compressed charge in the 'cylinder passes down the above-named passage, and, acting somewhat after the manner ot' the propelling-fluid in an injector, blows or projects the ignitiug-iiame directly into the cylinder-port, and thus ignites the compressed mixture ofgas or vapor and air in the cylinder. Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a View of therear end of a gas-engine according to my invention. Figf is a side elevatiomshowing the cylinderand valves. Fig. 3 is a plan of the same. Fig. 4 shows two elevations of the eccentric and rod for'working the gniting-slide. Fig. 5 is ageneral side elevation, to a smaller scale, of a gas-engine constructed according to my invention. Fig. 6 Figs. 7, S, and 9 are detail views, 'showing the arrangement of thc igniting-passages; and Figs. 1 0 and 11 are detail views, showing the cams and the means ot' securing them' to their shaft. I

Combustibles-gas or vapor and airare drawn together by an outstroke of the engine into the chamber A, the gas entering by the small holes A', by which the current is broken into ne streams that facilitate its intimate admixture` with the air. The mixture passcsto :2v eresmas the cylinder E through the valve B and passage D, the former of which is raised in opposition to the power of a spiral spring, B', by a cani, as will be explained hereinafter. After the combustible mixture has been compressed and ignited, and has performed its office in propelling the piston, the products resulting from or remaining after combustion, or part ot' them, are admitted through an cduction or exhaust valve, N, into a casing, F, placed besidethe inlet-valve on the back cover, so that the wholeiseasilyrcmovable for cleaning,aud both can be work-ed from one set ofcams G C'. The cams C C' are arranged sidc by side upon the shaft l, and are adjustably secured thereto, so that they can be adjusted in either of two positions with relation to one another, which positions correspond, respectively-',with thc motions of the piston when theengineis running forward or backward. The cam C is slotted in the direction of rotation, and is connected to the shaft by the screw or pin c?, secured into the shaft and working in the slot. The cam C is provided with a boss, ci", and to this boss the cani C', which is also slotted in the direction of rotation, is connected by the screw or pin c4, secured into the boss c3 and working in the slot of the cam C'. Formed with or attached to the cam C' is a hand-wheel, A2, through 4there are two, O and O', in the plate.

which the set-screw H' passes into a screwthreaded hole in the end of the shaft I. The cams are adjusted by slightly withdrawing the set-screw H', then turning the hand-wheel A2 until the ends of the slots in the cams come in contact with their respective screws or pins, and finally tightening thc set-screw, the said wheel heilig turned to the left to adjust the cams for the forward motion and to the right for'the backward motion of the engine. Means may be adopted for effecting this purpose or the same result. The shaft I, upon which the cams U C' are. placed, is arranged longitudinally ofthe engine below the level of the center line of the cylinder, and is driven by wheels- P with skew or helicoidal teeth. This arrangement permits of a convenient disposition of the mechanism for actuating the valves and avoids the noise consequent upon the employnient of bevel-gears.

The ignition ot' the charge is effected bythe igniting-slide M, which is operated by the shaft l by an eccentric, L, eccentric-strap Il',

and rod L2. This eccentric can also be readily set to bring the slide into operation at the proper instant, whether the engine berunning in one direction or the other. Upon the shaft I there is keyed a driving-plate, K, to which the eccentric is connected by a bolt or pin, O2.

There ,is one bolt-hole in the eccentric, and K Vhen the bolt passes through one holesay O-the eccentric is set for the forward motion of the engine; and when itis transferred to the second hole, O', the eccentric being moved through they necessary angle to admit of the change, the slide comes into position for igniting the charge at a moment corresponding to the rovplosion is to take place.

`tation of the engine in the other direction.

Thus by moving the eccentric L' and the boss H the engine can be easily and readily rcversed. The igniting-slide M contains an igniting-cell, Q, and has a vertical reciprocating motion against a face formed on the cylinder. By this arrangement the ame is carried in the direction of its feeding, and not horizontally, as is usual. In the cylinder-face there is a port, R, communicating with the interior of the cylinder, and is so situated that it comes opposite the igniting-cell Q, just when the eX- ln addition to the cell Q, the slide has a passage, S, in it, which opens at one end into a groove, S', in the cylinder-face in such a position that it communicates with the port R slightly before the cell Q comes opposite the same port. At the other end the said passage S opens into a groove, S2, cutting the slide-cover T. This groove forms a communication between the passage S and inlet S3, opening into the cavity-back Q, behind the igniting-ame. With the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 7 the port S has just opened to the cylinder, and the cell Q, isjustupon the point ofdoing so, when a small portion of the compressed charge will pass down the groove S', passage S, groove S2, and inlet S, and will blow or project thc igniting-lame directly into the cylinderE, and thus fire the compressed mixture.

In engines of this class made hitherto the small charge of mixture from the cylinder has been admitted into the passage which feeds the ignition-flame with gas, and not directly IOD across the flame to project it into the cylinder,

as in my invention, which makes the ignition ofthe charge more sure and prompt.

IIaving thus-described the nature of the said invention and the manner in which it is to be performed, I would have it understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details herein described and referred to, as many variations may be made without deviating from `the principle or main features of my invention; but

What I. consider to be novel, and therefore claim, is-v 1. In a gas-motor engine, the combination, with the inlet and outlet valves, of two cams adjustably secured" upon a rotary shaft, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a gas-motor engine, the combination, with the inlet and outlet valves and means for operating the same, of an igniting-slide adjustably connected to the valve-operating shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a gas-motor engine, the combination, with the cylinder E, provided with the port R and groove S', of the igniting-slidc M, provided with the igniting-cell Q, the passage S, and inlet S3, and the slide-cover T, provided with the groove S2, substantially as herein shown and described.

4. In a gas-motor engine, the combination,

IIO

valves and slide to their respect-ive cams, sul stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

HERBERT SUMNER.

@uiting-slide M, of the snafu I, the wheels P, ALBERT E. HALL, cams C C L, and means for connecting said 1 U. S. Oonsulalc, llIanchester. 

